Please note: the main programme is incorrect – this class will start a week earlier – on Thursday 26th September (not the 3rd October).

Brief Description:

Train the mind to reduce stress and manage chronic ill-health unwellness by taking time to unplug from a busy schedule and connect with what matters most to you. Are you ready to find a different way of dealing with stress and managing the symptoms of long-term health conditions? Would you like to learn to still your busy mind and switch off in order to fully relax and recover? Mindfulness meditation, if practiced regularly, can help you to take better care of your health and mental wellbeing. This eight-week programme will teach you different ways of meditating so that you can adapt how you practice to your lifestyle. By learning as a group, you will support each other to make changes and to challenge learnt behaviours and habits that may be contributing to feeling stressed and far from your best. You will be invited to read the book Mindfulness for Health, to support your learning journey.

Funding information:

This course is funded by Cambridgeshire Skills, so full attendance is required; you will also need to complete an enrolment form so that the office can apply for the funding and complete an individual learning plan weekly with your tutor.

This course may be fully funded if:

You are over 19 years old

You live within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough combined authority

and have lived in the UK / an EEA country for the last 3 years.

Contact the office if you would like to confirm your eligibility.

Please note: this year learners will be asked for their annual income. There will be a certain threshold (which we are currently waiting for further guidance). If the income exceeds the threshold there will be a small fee to contribute (no more than £10), the funding will subsidise the rest of the cost.

If you do not qualify for funding but would still like to attend contact the office for a price.

Please note: There will be no class on Thursday 17th October (due to a school event) and Thursday 31st October (half term).

Previous Experience and Knowledge Needed?

This course is open to beginners to mindfulness meditation, as well as those with some experience, who wish to develop practice and confidence. The teaching approach is experiential, rather than academic, and invites learners to commit to practising meditation at home daily, to consolidate the new skills learnt.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to:

• Be competent and confident in your personal meditation practice
• Have a deeper understanding of the science of stress and its impact on behaviours
• Exercise the ability to intervene at an earlier stage in the stress build-up and reduce its impact on wellbeing and communication
• Have identified mindfulness practices that best support you to maintain good health and live a good life
• Connect with others to support home-practice and create a social support network
• Practice silence for up to 20 minutes in each meditation practice

Extra costs on the course for example text book, materials or equipment:

A small journal will be provided by the course, but you may wish to bring your own personalised notebook

You may wish to bring a shawl or small throw to wear during the meditation practice as it gets cold sitting still

You are invited to buy Mindfulness for Health by Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman, which includes a CD of guided meditations

For the first session you will need to bring:

Learners will need a fresh and personalised notebook, in which to journal, as well as  a pen or pencils if you choose to draw rather than write

Bringing a small cushion and shawl/ small blanket will help learners feel more comfortable and warm

On completion of this course, what might your next steps be?

Talk to your health care providers, e.g. social prescriber, about how mindfulness meditation can support your wellbeing along with other treatment and social support options.

To continue practicing at home and integrating the new skills into your lifestyle

To connect with local meditation practice networks via social media

To explore the origins of secular mindfulness meditation by exploring its spiritual dimension, e.g.at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre

To download an app to support home-practice.

To access other sources of mindfulness support locally